Horse Arena to Ride On in Memory of Teenager

Kristopher Abercrombie grew up riding horses in the fields of Conejo Creek Park. A champion rider, he was graced with a natural talent that most equestrian enthusiasts spend years cultivating.

After a long battle with cancer, the 16-year-old died last fall and friends yearned for a special way to remember him.

This weekend Kristopher’s talents as a rider, athlete, academic and a poet will be memorialized when the park’s newly renovated Waverly Arenas are rededicated in his name.

“We’re dedicating it to show what places like that do for children,” said Marilee Ullmann, who has coordinated the effort to rename the arena. “I can’t help but think that it helped Kristopher’s life.”

Kristopher approached horseback riding with the same passion that made him a straight-A student, a star baseball player and a pensive poet.

“Kris came to us that way, and he taught us a lot more than we taught him,” said Michelle Enge, his mother. “Kris would just keep working at things and working at things.”

He would often stay up late into the night to do all his homework and wake up by 5 a.m. to finish. He liked to write poetry and was even published after he won a contest.

Kristopher liked football and played on the freshman team, although he was already starting to get sick.

But baseball was the love of his life. During the season, the Westlake High School student would go to Cal Lutheran University each morning before school to train with the college team.

“Anything that was sports minded, he wanted to be the best he could be,” Enge said.

It was horse riding that came easily. By age 3, he was able to ride alone. It amazed Enge, who teaches horseback riding.

“He kind of grew up with it and had a natural talent, much more natural than me,” she said.

When Kristopher met Medicine Hat, a horse that no one seemed to be able to tame, he worked to be the best at riding the wild horse.

“This horse had had so many owners that he was not very trusting,” Enge said. “He made a bond with Kris.”

With his gentle abilities, Kristopher turned a horse that no one would ride into a champion jumper. The duo took first place three times in fence-jumping competitions in Santa Barbara.

Although the Waverly Arenas had fallen into disrepair and were even threatened with closure, Kristopher attended City Council meetings to urge officials to keep the equestrian center running.

“The fact that our arena was in constant peril just drove him nuts,” Enge said.

Ullmann remembers a bookmark Kristopher kept.

“It had a Mark Twain quote saying, ‘Always do right,’ ” she said. “And he lived his life like that. His life exemplified that because of all he did.”

The one thing that hard work couldn’t overcome was his health. Diagnosed with a genetic immunity disorder when he was young, Kristopher always seemed to be battling some sort of sickness. But he lived his life so that no one would ever know, Enge said.

“He was small but he was strong,” Enge said. “And willing to do whatever it took.”

Several months ago, Equestrian Trails Inc. and the city of Thousand Oaks agreed to spend the more than $10,000 needed to rebuild the arenas used for horseback riding. And on Sunday, the fields will have a full rebirth when they are dedicated in Kristopher’s honor.

For Enge, the renaming of the arena is a fitting tribute to her son.

“We’d rather have him,” she said. “But we’re very proud it’s there.”